Almost from the time that pipes have been used, there have been devices to support them so that undue strain is not placed upon the pipe or couplings. Representative of the various supports that have been used over the years are the following references.
Hazen U.S. Pat. No. 1,034,444 discloses a bracket for supporting downspouts on the outside of buildings, although it could be adapted for supporting industrial piping. It is fastened to an adjustable base, permitting adjustment of the distance between supports. The support itself has a turnbuckle arrangement to adjust the spacing of the downspout from the base (or wall), plus a clamp which holds the downspout in place. It has little relationship to the present invention, except as one example of a support for pipes.
Jenkins U.S. Pat. No. 3,506,227 discloses a support for hanging pipe from an overhead. It has a novel system for adjusting for the diameter of the pipe, and uses a turnbuckle or other arrangement to adjust the length of the support. It has little relationship to the present invention, except as another example of a support for piping.
German patent 29 33 203 discloses a support for piping where the head of a bolt is welded or otherwise attached to the pipe, and the other-threaded-end of the bolt is threaded into a captive nut rotatingly affixed to a bracket which is, in turn, attached to a wall, overhead, or other structure. The bolt also is threaded through another nut which is tightened down on the captive nut when the support holds the pipe a desired distance from the supporting structure, firmly setting the desired spacing. It has little relevance to the present invention, except as illustrating yet a third method of supporting piping.